Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

letters to the editor:

Immigrant issues a priority for Clinton

I grew up like any other American child, but I didn’t have the same opportunities. Why? I’m undocumented. I’ve lived in Nevada since I was a baby, but my family got caught in our broken immigration system. We fell victim to fraud: An attorney falsely promised to fix our statuses. Instead, we received deportation orders.

But there is hope. Three years ago I woke to a phone call that changed my life: My friend told me President Barack Obama had announced a deferred action (DACA) program to help Dreamers. Through DACA, I obtained a work permit, and my life instantly improved. I was able to afford tuition at UNLV and I no longer lived in fear. Now, I’m in my last semester pursing a degree in psychology and criminal justice.

But we still have much to do. Our next president must step up and defend our families.

This May, I participated in a roundtable with Hillary Clinton to talk about just that. Clinton strongly supported immigration reform. She answered our questions with clarity, showed she understood our challenges and listened with compassion. She defended DACA and pledged to strengthen protections for undocumented immigrants.

It’s too early to tell which presidential candidates offer the best solutions, but last week at the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials conference in Las Vegas, Clinton again demonstrated she will fight to keep families together.

I want to hear more from Clinton and other candidates about immigration reform. I only hope others will talk to me with the same respect as Hillary did.

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